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AMMAN — Jordan on Monday condemned the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif by itamar ben gvir, Israel's far-right minister of national security, who was accompanied by government officials, Knesset members and large groups of extremist settlers.
A Foreign Ministry statement said that the incursion coincided with the so-called "Flag March" and was accompanied by provocative and unacceptable actions, describing the incident as a flagrant violation of the historical and legal status quo, as well as of Israel’s obligations as an occupying force.
Stressing that repeated incursions by the Israeli minister and others do not change the legal reality, the ministry said "East Jerusalem remains occupied territory, and Israel has no sovereignty over it."
Sufian Qudah, the ministry's spokesperson, reaffirmed Jordan’s rejection and denunciation of ben gvir's storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque/Al-Haram Al-Sharif and the actions of the accompanying officials and settlers.
He also criticised the Israeli police for facilitating repeated violations of the sanctity of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, warning that such actions constitute a blatant breach of international law and represent an attempt to impose a new status quo at the site, including its temporal and spatial division.
"These acts are not only provocative, but also recklessly escalate tensions, especially as Israel expands its war on Gaza and intensifies its operations in the occupied West Bank", said Qudah.
He warned of the serious consequences of continued violations and called on Israel, as an occupying force, to cease all provocative actions carried out by ben gvir and extremist settlers. He emphasised that these actions form part of a broader Israeli government policy to escalate the situation in the West Bank and increase incursions into Palestinian areas.
The spokesperson reaffirmed that the entire 144-dunum Al-Aqsa Mosque compound is an Islamic holy site reserved exclusively for Muslim worship, adding that the Jordan-run Jerusalem Awqaf Department is the sole legal authority responsible for managing the mosque and regulating access to it.